Devotions

“So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians … Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying, ‘I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously!’” (Exodus 14:30; 15:1).

God wants you to come out of your storm a worshipper! He had made a way for you in your dark night and he has a plan to bring you out as a shining example to the world of his faithfulness to his people.

Most Christians are familiar with what happened to Israel at the Red Sea and how God miraculously delivered his chosen people. Yet, you may wonder what this incident has to do with making you a worshipper.

Here’s the scene: Israel encamped by the sea and the people were rejoicing in their newfound freedom. After four hundred years of bondage, God had led them out of the iron furnace of Egypt. As they reveled at their first taste of freedom, they were filled with the hope that freedom brings, singing and crying, “We’re free at last!” They were so excited by the promises God had given them.

This scene poignantly represents the Christian who has been delivered from sin — he rejoices in his newfound freedom from past bondages and he has a holy melody in his heart because he’s living out God’s promises. But then an attack comes! In the case of the Israelites, Pharaoh’s army attacked suddenly and unexpectedly, sending shockwaves throughout the camp. At the hour of Israel’s greatest peace, the enemy sought to devour them; at the very height of their freedom, during their hour of greatest hope, Satan tried to take them out.

“The children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold … they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord” (Exodus 14:10). In spite of their fear, the Lord supernaturally protected Israel and brought them through in victory (see Exodus 14:31).

When Satan comes at you and tries to defeat you, just as Moses told the Israelites, the Lord would say to you, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today … The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (14:13-14). And like Israel, you can come forth as a worshipper and sing aloud in triumph!

Undoubtedly, this generation has taken the sin of unbelief too lightly and right now, we are seeing the tragic results. Many believers are in depression and unrest; of course, some suffer for physical reasons, but many others endure such suffering because of their spiritual condition — often brought on by unbelief.

The Lord always uses strong language when he refers to unbelief among his people, words such as wrath, anger, abhorrence and tempting him. Moses made a point of reminding the younger Israelites of this: “You saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place … And the Lord heard the sound of your words [of unbelief], and was angry, and took an oath, saying, ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers’” (Deuteronomy 1:31, 34-35).

Shortly after the Red Sea crossing, God commanded Israel to go boldly into Canaan and he gave them a powerful word of assurance: “Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it … do not fear or be discouraged …The Lord your God … will fight for you” (1:21, 30). What an incredible promise! But Israel staggered at God’s pledge to them and instead of taking him at his promise, they sent spies into Canaan, who brought back an evil report — full of unbelief (see Numbers 13 and 14). You see, while the spies were there, they were influenced by Satan and failed to take God at his word. Thus, they returned to camp as instruments of the devil.

God brings all his children to the ultimate testing of their faith. In fact, you may be in this place right now. You have a wonderful history with God and he has given you his covenant promises, but the devil has come to you with lies, telling you that you’re not going to make it.

If you have begun to accept such lies and you believe God is going to fail you in your crisis, it is time for you to look into God’s Word and believe it! God has not left you to fight alone, so take his hand and walk into the promised land he has prepared for you. 

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light … He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” (John 1:6-8).

We are told that Jesus is the light of the world, “that all through him might believe” (1:7). Yet, we read, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it … He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (1:5, 11).

Unbelief has always grieved the heart of Jesus. When he came to earth in the flesh, he brought great light into the world that was meant to open the eyes of men. Yet, in spite of this amazing show of light, Scripture speaks of examples of unbelief.

One such example is seen at Bethany when Jesus was having supper in the home of his friends Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus, whom Christ had raised from the dead. At the time, crowds were passing through town on their way to the Passover feast at Jerusalem and they were intent on catching a glimpse of the man being called Messiah and the man he had resurrected (see John 12:1-9).

In the same chapter, we find these people waving palm branches and singing hosannas to Jesus as he enters Jerusalem on a donkey. They were seeing the fulfillment of a prophecy they had heard all their lives (see Zechariah 9:9). Finally, a voice came thundering from heaven as the Father glorified his own name (see John 12:30).

Each of these things happened before a huge throng of religious people, but still the people asked a question that absolutely stunned Jesus: “Who is this Son of Man?” (12:34). Their blindness was astounding and the Lord warned: “Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you” (12:35).

Jesus’ words here apply to Christians who refuse to mix the Word they hear with faith. They neglect to grasp, embrace and walk in the light they’ve been given and one day they will realize, “God doesn’t speak to me anymore.”

Beloved, accept God’s miracle-working power in your life; it will empower you to walk in freedom and assurance. When hard times come to you, you can say with confidence, “I’ve seen your light, Lord. Work your miracles in me again!” 

In generations past, God touched and anointed particular men and women in a powerful way. These followers of God became enraptured with the Lord and his cause and rose up in faith. They awakened and changed the destinies of entire nations — and one such man was Daniel.  

“Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession” (Daniel 9:3-4).

The prophet Daniel discerned the times because he knew God’s heart. “I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet” (9:2). Daniel came to this path of knowledge and discernment through the study of God’s Word. He allowed the Scriptures to lay hold of him fully, and he quoted them often and at length because he had hidden them away in his heart.

In Daniel 10, this godly prophet was given a vision of Christ. “I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz … his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire … and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude” (10:5-6).

There were other men with Daniel when he saw the vision. These men had to be believers because in his captivity, Daniel had set a standard for himself not to associate with the wicked. Yet these believers who were with him now weren’t like Daniel, so when the vision came, they fled. “I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves” (10:7). Why did they flee in fear? Because they possessed hidden sin in their hearts.

Does God raise up such men and women today? We know God “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). We serve the same God as past generations; in fact, we possess something those godly of old didn’t have — the gift of his Holy Spirit.

Beloved, I encourage you to be filled with the Spirit, set your face toward the Lord and step out and be set apart.

“The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep … The sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:2-3, NLT).

We all need guidance for decisions in life, yet in a world as chaotic as ours, getting good guidance isn’t always simple or easy. Jesus makes it clear that it’s different for his children, however. “His sheep” know his voice and “come to him.” The picture he gives is that of a good shepherd providing oversight and care for his own sheep.

Does that suffice for the hard decisions we all have to make? “Whom do I marry? What vocation do I pursue? What is my purpose in life?” Such questions are fraught with tension.  

As our Shepherd cares and provides for us, our enemy, the devil seeks to steal from us. Satan is bent on destroying our precious faith and Jesus describes him as a thief who sneaks into a pen: “Anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! … The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:1, 10).

A hindrance every Christian encounters is the alluring gospel of a false teacher. Jesus teaches, “[My sheep] won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice” (10:5). Such “strangers” look, sound and dress the same as any good pastor but the gospel they preach gradually leads people away from Christ’s rich, satisfying “good pasture” to the destruction of their souls.

It is essential that we learn the voice of our Good Shepherd and be able to distinguish it from the voices of false shepherds. And the only way to detect the counterfeit is to intimately know the original. This comes only by feeding on the meat of our Shepherd: “So faith comes by hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:17).